BUFFALO. 129 



position of the foe, immediately diverge from him, and 

 consequently from each other. 



The herd is now two herds, which run off in different 

 directions. Pursuing one of these it is split again and 

 again, until the hunter is enabled to select his animal 

 from the diminished numbers. 



All this requires an excellent horse, a cool and skilful 

 rider, and, what is difficult to find on the plains, good 

 ground and plenty of it. Among steep ravines or very 

 broken ground the buffalo can travel better than the best 

 horse. 



Once when on a hunt I came upon two Mexican 

 buffalo hunters, one of whom possessed the finest and 

 most perfectly trained buffalo horse I have ever seen. 

 They were encamped near a water hole to which the 

 buffalo came to drink. On the approach of a herd the 

 horses were saddled, the fine horse and rider dashed into 

 it, split it up as I have described, singled out a victim, 

 always a fat two-year-old, separated it entirely from its 

 companions, and headed it towards his camp, all at tre- 

 mendous speed. They were soon met by the other 

 hunter, and the two, placing themselves on the flanks of 

 the now tired animal, drove it to their camp, when a 

 pistol shot finished the race. They had a fine lot of meat 

 and a goodly pile of skins, and they said that every 

 buffalo had been driven into camp and killed as the one 

 I saw. ' It saves a heap of trouble, packing the meat to 

 camp,' said one of them, naively. 



Forty years ago the buffalo ranged from the plains of 

 Texas to beyond the British line ; from the Missouri and 

 Upper Mississippi to the eastern slopes of the Eocky 

 Mountains. Every portion of this immense area was 

 either the permanent home of great numbers of buffalo, 

 or might be expected to have each year one or more 

 visits from migratory thousands. 



Hunters' tradition says that the first great break in 

 his regular irregularity occurred about the winter of 



K 



